Municipal takeover of paper collection cuts income for local associations
More Dutch municipalities are taking over the collection of old paper and cardboard from local associations, depriving sports and community clubs of long-standing income. Figures from the Royal Dutch Association for Waste and Cleaning Services (NVRD) show that 44 percent of municipalities handled their own collection in 2023, up from 32 percent in 2022.
For decades, many municipalities allowed sports, music, and other associations to collect old paper in exchange for a fee, generating money for activities and maintenance, according to NOS. That practice is now shrinking.
“You are working here with volunteers. We see more and more that municipalities do not want to take the risk of something happening to them,” said NVRD spokesman Ralph Peters, noting that professional waste workers are trained to use heavy machinery.
Oss, in Noord-Brabant, is among the municipalities that have ended collection by associations. “We lose a lot of money,” Wendy van den Berk, chairwoman of soccer club RKSV Cito in Oss, told NOS. The club had collected paper for 30 years but received an email last week informing them the arrangement was over. The club will lose 6,000 euros per year.
Other groups in the area report similar losses. The Lithoijen/Teeffelen parent association, which organizes activities such as King’s Games, school trips, and Halloween events, told NOS it will lose 2,600 euros annually.
